2nd Test, India v Sri Lanka, Statistical Highlights

It was the 22nd Test between these two sides. The record now reads :
India 8, Sri Lanka 2 ,drawn 12.

It was the 11th Test between these two sides. The record now reads :
India 2, Sri Lanka 2,drawn 7.

Tyronne Wijewardene was making his debut as a Test umpire. He became
16th Sri Lankan to officiate in a Test match. The other umpire Steve
Bucknor was officiating in his 60th match.

Chaminda Vaas was playing in his 50th Test. He became the seventh Sri
Lankan and the 172nd player in all to do so. England's Andrew Caddick
became 173rd player to appear in 50 or more matches a day after Vaas
doing so.

Hashan Tillakaratne became fourth Sri Lankan to complete 3000 runs in
a Test career when he scored his 7th run in second innings. He was
playing his 58th match and 94th innings. Others with 3000 plus runs
for Sri Lanka are Aravinda de Silva (5952 runs in 89 matches), Arjuna
Ranatunga (5105 in 93) and Sanath Jayasuriya (3730 in 61).

Muralitharan (67) made his maiden fifty in his 67th Test. His innings
was the second highest by a number nine batsman for Sri Lanka after
Graeme Labrooy's 70* against New Zealand at Auckland in 1990-91.
Muralitharan's previous highest was 39 against India at Colombo SSC in
1997-98 which was also the previous highest score for Sri Lanka
against India at number nine.

The 64-run partnership between Muralitharan and Ruchira Perera in
second innings was Sri Lanka's best for tenth wicket against India.
The previous best was 44 between Asoka de Silva and Rumesh Ratnayake
at Nagpur in 1986-87. The pair however just failed to better Sri
Lanka's best tenth wicket partnership in all Tests which still remains
as 73 between Hashan Tillakaratne and Sajeewa de Silva against
Pakistan at Dhaka in 1998-99.

Venkatesh Prasad's second innings figures of 5 for 72 are the best
bowling figures by an Indian in Sri Lanka bettering Anil Kumble's 5
for 87 in first innings of Colombo (SSC) Test in 1993-94.

Saurav Ganguly's 98* was his first fifty in 14 innings. After his
unbeaten 65 against Zimbabwe at Delhi in 2000-01 he scored
30,8,1,23,48,22,4,5,9,0,15,4 and 18.

Ganguly's innings equalled the highest unbeaten score in the nineties by an
Indian batsman. Dilip Vengsarkar had scored an unbeaten 98 also against
Sri Lanka at Colombo SSC in 1985-86. Other Indian batsmen who remained
unbeaten in the nineties are Gundappa Viswanath (97* v West Indies at
Madras in 1974-75) and Ajit Wadekar (91* v Australia at Delhi in
1969-70).

Ganguly also became the seventh Indian captain on the eighth occasion
to record a score in the nineties. Sachin Tendulkar has suffered this
fate on two occasions. Interestingly Ganguly is the only among the seven
to end on the winning side.

India's total of 264 for three was its second highest in the fourth
innings to win a Test . It was also only the third time India
successfully chased a target of 250 plus in the fourth innings of a
Test. The first instance came on October 15,1964 against Australia at
Brabourne Stadium in Bombay when India made 256-8 chasing a target of
254. The second instance was against West Indies on April 12,1976 when
India made history by making 406-4 after being set a target of
403. India's total in that Test remains the highest ever winning total
achieved by any side in the fourth innings of a Test.

The 264-run target set by Sri Lanka provided the 67th instance when
India was asked to score over 250 in the fourth innings to win a Test
match. India has won only three, tied one (v Australia at Madras in
1986-87), drawn 28 and lost 35. The accompanying table lists India's
wins after being set a victory target of 125 or more by opponents in
the fourth innings :

Total

Opponents

Target

Venue

Test

Season

406-4

West Indies

402

Port-of-Spain

3rd

1975-76

264-3

Sri Lanka

264

Kandy

2nd

2001

256-8

Australia

253

Bombay

2nd

1964-65

200-5

New Zealand

199

Dunedin

1st

1967-68

190-3

Zimbabwe

189

Delhi

1st

2000-01

184-2

Zimbabwe

183

Bulawayo Q.C.

1st

2001

181-3

Australia

180

Delhi

3rd

1969-70

174-6

England

172

The Oval

3rd

1971

155-8

Australia

154

Madras

3rd

2000-01

151-2

New Zealand

150

Bangalore

1st

1995-96

136-5

England

133

Lord's

1st

1986

125-7

West Indies

124

Madras

4th

1978-79

125-3

West Indies

123

Port-of-Spain

2nd

1970-71

With the win over Sri Lanka in Kandy Test, Saurav Ganguly equalled the
record of winning most Tests on foreign soil as Indian captain. This was Ganguly's third Test win away from home. The other being v Bangladesh at Dhaka in November 2000 and v Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in June this year. He thus
equalled the tally of Bishan Singh Bedi and Nawab of Pataudi junior
for India who have also won three Tests apiece. India has won only 16
Tests on foreign soil out of a total of 161 . Following are the lucky
captains:

Total

Matches

Won

Lost

Drawn

Ties

Winning %

SC Ganguly

5

3

2

0

0

60.00

Nawab of Pataudi jr.

13

3

10

0

0

23.08

BS Bedi

14

3

8

3

0

21.43

AL Wadekar

11

2

3

6

0

18.18

Kapil Dev

14

2

3

9

0

14.29

SM Gavaskar

18

2

6

10

0

11.11

M Azharuddin

27

1

10

16

0

3.70

Kandy once again proved to be a jinxed venue for Sri Lanka who lost their third successive Test here after taking a 1-0 lead in the series. England
and South Africa, the previous two countries to tour Sri Lanka
earlier, had both conceded a 0-1 lead to the hosts at Galle in their
three-Test series but equalised at Kandy. Out of a total of 12 Tests
played at Kandy, Sri Lanka has lost seven, drawn three and won only
two.

Saurav Ganguly was winning his third Man-of-the-Match award in Tests. His other awards were against England at Nottingham in 1996 and against Sri
Lanka at Mumbai in 1997-98.